Dear daughters,
Something big happened this week. No, something huge. A door was opened this week, a ceiling crushed as glass came pouring down. And girls, women, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, nieces and grandmas watched as the very first female became the Vice President of the United States of America.
Now look, I know I don’t always talk politics with you girls. I mean, I would like to keep you young and innocent for as long as I can. But it does not matter where anyone stands on this — whether they are Democrat or Republican, whether they absolutely despise this lady or cherish every word she says, whether they think she earned it or it was given to her — I tell you, regardless, history was made today.
It was as if we as females all across the nation watched as this lady carried our worth and possibilities right up to the U.S. Capitol and opened the door to a limitless future of opportunities now within a woman’s reach.
I have always told you girls to dream big, that you can be anything you want to be if you work hard enough. Well, baby girls, I am now telling you to dream even bigger. The limit of your dreams has just been extended even further. The bar has been raised.
Did you know that it was 100 years ago when women were finally allowed to even voice their vote in elections? But, oh little ladies, we have come a long way since then. Many firsts had to happen to open the doors for more ways that women could become closer to equal.
Slowly but surely, women have been able to move into roles that were previously held by only men — including, but not limited to physicians, astronauts, CEOs, pro athletes, authors, lawyers, and now, in 2021, the Vice President of the United States of America.
So today, my sweet daughters, I want you to realize that if a roadblock ever stands in the direction that you want to pursue, that you can and should challenge it. And I will back you the entire journey.
I do not know how much further we will come as a nation in the next 10, 20, or even 50 years. But I do always want you to be on the lookout for any inequalities you may face. While I am all for it, it doesn’t have to be becoming first female president. It could be anything that leaves you feeling inferior.
When I was not much older than you girls, I came across a circumstance that made me question the “norm.” Growing up in a Catholic school, we reached a grade when they asked which boys wanted to learn to become altar servers (those who help the priest throughout the Mass). Yes, they asked only boys. Girls were not allowed to be altar servers.
But, why? Turns out, there wasn’t a good-enough reason. By the end of the year, myself and a handful of other girls were up on that altar assisting the priests. Nowadays, it’s a common thing to see a girl up there serving. We challenged the inequality and won.
And that, my sweet girls, is why I so want you to know about this week. I want you to know that the power and ability that rests in your hands to do more with your life was not something that was always there. And that you too can fight to be whatever it is you want to be.
One day, I hope, it will be a normal thing for a woman to hold such a high position in our country. Heck, by the time you girls are old enough to care about politics, a woman in office may not even be a big deal to you since it is what you grew up knowing.
And while I will be grateful if you all are used to a normal where women can be anyone that they put the work in to be, I want you to realize that some of the very opportunities you have in your life were not always there. It has taken a lot of work and grit and perseverance by females no different than you.
So, this week we celebrate — despite any political views, excitement or apprehension about the future. This week we celebrate not only another barrier kicked out of the way for ourselves as women, but the hope and possibilities of the future.
Because of women — just like you — who have fought to become anything their hearts desire, you two, my little loves, can also become anything that you put the work into being. And that makes this Mama’s heart smile.
Go get it, baby girls, whatever it is. The possibilities are truly endless.
I love you,
Mom
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